Eight people were shot Monday during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, and one of the victims is in critical condition, police said.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that all the victims in the afternoon shooting were adults, WPBF-TV reported.
The shooting occurred at Ilous Ellis Park at 5:20 p.m. during an event called the MLK Car Show and Family Fun Day, which was attended by more than 1,000 people, according to police. Includes a car show.
“Several people were shot. Based on our initial investigation here at the location, it appears that there was some type of disagreement between two parties, and unfortunately they chose to resolve it with firearms,” said St. Lucie County Deputy Sheriff Brian Hester.
Four people, including a child, suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the ensuing confusion, the television reported.
“It was massive chaos, as you can imagine, when gunshots rang out,” Hester said. “There were over a thousand people here at the event, and when the shots were heard, people ran in all directions.”
The police department said two officers at the event responded immediately and helped the victims, the broadcaster added.
Video footage obtained by television showed people taking cover, running and hiding behind cars, including a woman running for cover while holding a baby.
“It’s really sad, in the memory of someone who stood for peace and equality, that a disagreement would lead to the use of firearms and violence to settle that disagreement, and that’s what’s really sad about what happened here.” Hester stated. “And then a lot of innocent people were also injured and had nothing to do with the disagreement.”
Source: El Nuevo Herald
